emigrant ships all hay and straw must be carried on deck, at a distance from the galley, and covered with canvas. It is usually stowed in the chains and on the quarters of ships leaving Calcutta in fine weather. At Port Louis, vessels requiring hay for the purpose of their voyage, are not allowed to remain the night at anchor, or on the warps in the harbour, after it is on board; and if ready to sail, must run out and anchor at the Bell Buoy. Neither hay nor cotton can be allowed to remain on the wharf during the day, unless under a special guard; nor can such be suffered under any circumstances to remain there during the night. Tonnage. The Admiralty allows 500 lbs. pressed hay to a ton. Ordinarily compressed hay in trusses measure about 2 feet 4 inches x 2 feet 6 inches x 3 feet, and will average about 270 lbs. per truss, occupying say 140 feet per ton for stowage, which hydraulic pressure will reduce to 105 feet per ton. Hay and Straw. 36 lbs. make 1 truss of straw; 50 lbs. 1 truss old hay; 60 lbs. 1 truss new hay; 36 trusses 1 load; 18 cwt. 1 load old hay; 19 cwt. 32 lbs. 1 load new hay; 11 cwt. 64 lbs. 1 load straw; 1 square yard of new hay 6 stone, oldish hay 8 stone, and old hay 9 stone. Hay is considered as new for three months, and is called old on the first of October. The Admiralty estimate a bundle to weigh 44 lbs. per cubic foot; trusses supposed to weigh 56 lbs. vary from 52 to 58 lbs.; straw in bundles 31% lbs. per cubic foot vary from 30 to 50 lbs. 66 500. HEMP, or cannabis sativa, being a plant of rapid growth, sucks up much of the unaltered soil, and therefore differs greatly according to the soil as well as the climate and culture. Riga produces the best in Europe, well known as Riga rhine;" the next is Petersburg braak or clean; then Riga pass or half-clean, hemp from Konigsberg, Archangel, Sweden, and Memel. Another authority says, Riga hemp is designated Rein or Rhine, outshot, pass, and codilla; Petersburg is termed clean, outshot, half-clean, and codilla. Riga outshot and Petersburg outshot come next in rotation to Riga rhine and Petersburg clean; then pass and Petersburg half-clean. "Kaarle" means inferior as applied to hemp or hemp seed, or both. When hemp arrives at Petersburg from the growers, it is sorted or "braacked" into three qualities-clean, outshot, and half-clean; this sorting was formerly done by the government, now (less efficiently) by the merchants or dealers. The clean is long and strong; outshot shorter and weaker; half-clean still shorter. Riga the assortment of Ryne, outshot, and pass is "braacked" as at Petersburg. In chartering at Petersburg, when clean hemp obtains 40s. ton freight, outshot gets 2s. 6d., and half-clean 5s. additional. At Riga, when clean hemp, Rhine, outshot, and Dwina pass obtain 50s., coarse Polish, and Ukraine pass get 52s. 6d. In other words, 2s. 6d. pton, and 5s. P ton additional are usually paid In for the coarser descriptions. The quantity delivered is generally greater than that charged in the bill of lading. 501. The first season for pulling clean hemp, the roots being available, is in August. Russian hemp, shipped in the Baltic, is usually of the growth of two seasons previous, that is, hemp grown say in 1860 gets down for shipment in 1862; through accelerated modes of transit, large quantities of one season old only have latterly been shipped in August, September, and October. Hemp generally arrives at Riga about the middle of May; this hemp, especially if gathered in wet seasons, and if great care is not taken in its preparation, is very liable to get heated in the hold, and will become seriously damaged from natural moisture when the voyage is a long one. In the summer the sun's rays make the decks above extremely hot by day-by night they become very cold, particularly underneath; this creates condensation, which drops on and injures the cargo. On the voyage home, or when at anchor at Elsinore, &c., the hatches, during fine weather, should be open, to counteract the injurious effects of heating. Particular care must be taken to ship hemp and flax in fine dry weather; if they get wet they heat and are materially injured; for this reason every vessel must be furnished with mats when loading. 502. The ballast used in Cronstadt, St. Petersburg, and Riga, is generally stone, which is planked and double-matted. In some Russian ports the ship is ballasted on dunnage of light wood, with bar iron, stowed crossways, so as to admit the air; the iron is covered with mats to receive bales, and in large ships they are covered with mats to receive a second ballasting of iron. Hemp should be dunnaged about 9 inches on the floors, and to the upper part of the bilge; the wing bales of the second tier kept 6 inches off the side at the lower corner, and 2 inches at the sides; sharpbottomed ships one-third less dunnage in floor and bilges. Double mats are also carried up the sides and are placed round the masts, pump-well, &c., and under the hatchways. Iron knees, bolts, &c., must be well dunnaged, as by contact they greatly injure hemp, more especially when leakage occurs near. Some importers do not consider mats to be of much use. 503. Being light and bulky hemp is forced by screws, which renders the operation rather slow: stevedores require to be watched or there will be great loss of space. On the other hand care must be observed not to overscrew in any particular direction, or the ship will be strained and become leaky at sca. Sometimes the lashings or bands of the bales (which are usually made of codilla or other inferior hemp) are cut for the purpose of stowing; this. should be avoided as much as possible, because the value of the hemp is thereby deteriorated. The stevedores at Riga through greater skill, are reputed to be able to stow 10 cent. more in a ship's hold than those at Petersburg and Cronstadt. At Riga the ship finds dunnage, the merchant mats; lathwood is generally used. During the passage the natural heating of the hemp draws out the sap from the slabbards (lathwood) and then the hemp contiguous becomes rotten, so that oftentimes without any leakage, a ship delivers two or three tons damaged hemp including the bands. When a bale is opened, the bands (four or five), are, in some ports, thrown on one side and sold with the damaged hemp. 504. In steam-ships the heat from the fires, like the over-heat from the sun, dries up the moisture of hemp and weakens it, but after landing and exposure to air, under shelter, it will, if not too much heated, recover a portion of its strength. A lengthened passage in a steam-ship may do serious injury to hemp. When it is stowed in an iron ship, every part of the cargo must be dunnaged off completely, so as to prevent contact, or the hemp will be damaged, especially if any leakage occurs. Dampness from hemp will oxidize iron. 505. Oil, linseed oil especially, and tar, if allowed to leak on hemp, may produce spontaneous combustion. The steam from artificial manures will ruin hemp and flax. The dangerous consequences of stowing hemp, jute, oil, tallow, and tobacco in the same place, is supposed to have been exemplified by the destruction and fatal fire at COTTON's Wharf, London, 22nd June, 1861. A ship discharging Venetian hemp at Devonport, in 1855, was put under detention in consequence of the discovery of stray lucifer matches in her cargo, supposed to have been dropped by the stevedores; in Philadelphia no vessel loading or discharging hemp at a wharf is permitted to have a fire; nor on board any other vessel lying near if considered dangerous; see the articles flax and rope, and for the seasons of shipment in the Baltic, see the article grain. 506. Ships will not stow their register tonnage of hemp, and speed is now of such great consideration that they do not carry so much in proportion to that tonnage as formerly. It must, however, be stated that hemp, especially at Petersburg, is not packed so closely now. An experienced merchant says "a Channel-built ship will not stow two-thirds of her register; a Scotch ship of 120 tons would carry perhaps 100 tons of flax, or if fine 110 tons." Pressedpacked bales of hemp stow, of course, closer than unpressed. Italian hemp is packed closer than Baltic; iron bands are sometimes used. A ship will stow 10 or 15 cent. more flax than hemp. The schooner Ada, of Runcorn, registers 102 tons, and took in at Petersburg in October, 1865, 65 tons of hemp; with this, 10 tons stone ballast, and 5 tons kentledge, she drew 8 feet 4 inches aft; with a dead-weight cargo she draws 11 feet 6 inches. DETAILS OF THREE CARGOES OF HEMP DISCHARGED AT PLYMOUTH IN 1865. The cargo of the Eliza Walker was discharged at the dockyard, Devonport, where the authorities The Eliza Walker is of composite construction by JORDAN. Her bottom is timber; the frame of her sides is iron; and the planking, two diagonal layers, is fastened with yellow metal bolts to the frame. No dunnage was used between the hemp and the sides. With this cargo her mean draught was 6 feet 6 inches: with a dead-weight cargo of 156 tons, 8 feet 6 inches. 507. Of late years quantities of yarn have been shipped at St. Petersburg and other Baltic ports. It is usually coiled on winches, (wooden reels) which are stitched in matting. The packages have the appearance of barrels, but they do not taper so much in the ends; six usually go to a ton, and the freight is 2s. 6d. less than for clean hemp. 508. In the northern island of New Zealand and in Cook's Straits, hemp is made up in bales of about the same size as those of cotton, pressed in a similar manner. It is generally brought from Australia as light freight, and is stowed over oil, tallow, &c.; this hemp is very clean, anl there is little or no steam from it. Large quantities come to England as lashings for bales of wool, there being sometimes five or six about each bale. In a cargo of 3,150 bales upwards of 25 tons of hemp were used for lashings. More hemp is produced in the northern than in the southern island of New Zealand: the season is from the beginning of November to the beginning of March. Bales of hemp made up in the Phillipine Isles, measure about 10 cubic feet and weigh 280 lbs. Manilla bales are packed very neatly and stow well. 509. Damaged Cargo. At Liverpool, January, 1858, BENCKE V. WILKINSON. Plaintiff sought to recover £9 compensation for damage to a parcel of hemp, shipped on board the Perseverance, from Riga. It appeared that, according to charter-party, the cargo was not to be opened or broken up, or the cordage cut, and no damp wood was to be stowed among the bales. Plaintiff contended that damp wood had been used as dunnage, and had caused the damage, and the evidence of his witnesses went to show that the damage was of such a character as could not have been caused by any other means than through the dampness of the dunnage. Defendant contended that any damage which had occurred was caused entirely by sea damage, and consequently was not such as the owner could be held responsible for. Several witnesses were called, among others the defendant, who stated that, from his own observation, the vessel had been leaking to some extent, as might have been expected from her condition, and the admission of salt water. The stevedore who unloaded her proved that she had been making water to some extent in the sides, which would run down among the hemp; the dunnage and stowage were good. Capt. ALLEN, surveyor to the underwriters, considered that the hemp had been well stowed, and that the dunnage was particularly well put in. He observed that some of the hemp had sustained damage; but that was only such as might arise from salt water; had been in the Baltic trade, and knew that hemp was a difficult cargo to stow, being apt to sustain injury from the access of water, even in small quantities. In commenting on the evidence, Mr. FORSHAW maintained that the witnesses for defendant had not succeeded in establishing that the damage had been occasioned by sea damage, while the evidence of his witnesses was to the effect that the damage was only traceable to the position of the dunnage wood. Mr. Commissioner BLAIR said there were points in the evidence which appeared to favour the impression, that being an absorbent of moisture, the damage might have arisen from sea-water. He took time to consider, and a few days afterwards gave judgment in favour of the defendant. Proportionate tonnage, &c. The following quantities are required to fill a keel of 850 cubic feet, or 97 quarters wheat, viz.: 10 tons clean hemp and flax; 9-107 outshot ditto; 7-760 half-clean ditto; and 5 825 codilla. 63 poods gross |